It’s great to have you here with us …

We’ve waited two years to deliver those words of welcome, to reopen our auditorium doors and gather again – in person – for the Library’s award-winning signature programming. 

Join us, beginning in March (with a few provisos to mitigate health risk). We’re leading off with a timely civic discussion Tuesday, March 8, at the Library’s Plaza Branch, assessing the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Kansas City’s public health and well-being. How heavily does the outbreak still weigh, particularly on children and families?

Mayor Quinton Lucas, city health department Director Marvia Jones, public schools Superintendent Mark Bedell, and Children’s Mercy Kansas City President and CEO Paul Kempinski headline a blue-ribbon panel.

March also features: 

• A presentation by acclaimed African American poet Patricia Smith in conjunction with her visit as the Cockefair Writer in Residence at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (Thursday, March 10, at the Plaza Branch). 

• A discussion by The New Yorker’s Dorothy Wickenden of her new book The Agitators: Three Friends Who Fought for Abolition and Women's Rights (Tuesday, March 15, at the Central Library). 

• A look at the life and work of famed Missouri painter Thomas Hart Benton by Ball State University art history associate professor Lara Kuykendall, who provided research and writing for the Library exhibit An Artist at Home in America: Michael Mardikes’ Photographs of Thomas Hart Benton (Tuesday, March 22, at the Central Library). 

• Two installments of the Library’s Hollywood vs. History film discussion series in partnership with the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (March 14 and 28, both Mondays, at the Plaza Branch). 

NOTES ON ATTENDING PUBLIC PROGRAMS

• Library events are still free, still open to all.

• To accommodate social distancing in our auditoriums, attendance initially will be capped. Please RSVP to secure entry. Attendees must check in when they arrive.

• All guests are asked to follow Library health and safety procedures in effect at the time of the event. Masks are required in all Library spaces.

• For those who can’t make an event in person, we’ll also livestream many of them at YouTube.com/kclibrary. See the full lineup at kclibrary.org/signature-events.

We hope you appreciate our continued focus on safety, for both patrons and Library staff. We look forward to seeing you.